


Andromeda Initiative Codex

by Strain_of_the_Stress



Series: Finding the Path [2]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Codex Entries, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-24 04:19:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15622401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strain_of_the_Stress/pseuds/Strain_of_the_Stress
Summary: Congratulations, traveler, on taking your first step towards a new life in a new galaxy. This document represents as much information as we have available on your new home, and comes pre-loaded on your omnitool prior to departure. As more is found out about our new galaxy, updates will be made periodically and automatically updated on your omnitool. We invite you to perouse these entries prior to arrival, as well as to continue to research your life among the stars after your arrival.





	1. Nexus Construction

Built to be the Andromeda version of the Citadel, the Andromeda Initiative’s Nexus features many of the same amenities as it’s larger milky-way counterpart. The bulk of the station is designed much like a standard space station, with small air-tight compartments creating a complex honeycomb of compartments, these are punctuated by nature-simulating zones, or biomes. The most notable example of which is the Central Ring and Interior Dock, but also include Common Areas, Commercial Centers, and Recreational Areas.

Each of these spaces were designed to feature advanced climate control HVAC systems, which can simulate everything from a sunny peaceful day to gale-like winds, a mixed screen and holographic display ceiling, planters full of homey flora and fauna, speakers to simulate weather-related sounds, and even some native species brought along to create a strong sense of familiarity. These mini biodomes were to be used to create a small slice of home featuring the occasional inclement weather day and even seasonal changes.

Many of these systems have been left un-constructed, idle, or forgotten in light of the other problems facing the nexus, but what few have been found have been used to create a refuge for those lucky enough to already be thawed.

Unlike the Citadel, which cycles a council-species environment to simulate, the Nexus features recreations of four planets constantly: Earth, Thessia, Palaven, and Sur’Kesh. The Central Ring and Inner Dock (CRID) is anticipated to cycle biomes on a decade basis, though is currently established as an Earth biome. Each world’s areas are named after their respective species’ heroes, though many still remain un-finished, some even still in vacuum.

 

 


	2. Nexus Apartments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Description of Nexus apartments, types, and distribution

On top of being the seat of the Andromeda Initiative, and future governments, in the Andromeda Galaxy, the Nexus acts as a home for the majority of the initiative’s early colonizers. In order to accommodate this, the majority of the station’s four prongs are dedicated to housing and residential blocks.

When colonizers signed up with the initiative in the milky way, they were given the option to pay their way into certain tiers of initiative housing, each correlating to a size of apartment. Some apartments were non-negotiable: administrators and critical top-level personnel were automatically allotted apartments in or near the crid, fleet operation and maintenance personnel were given apartments near the station’s four major docks, etc.

The station features four major types of apartments: interior, exterior, luxury, and organizational. The Interior apartments (commonly referred to as ‘matchboxes’) are the small one or two room apartments which were given to the poorest volunteers, or those not savvy enough to ask for a larger apartment upon departure. They have no window to the surrounding galaxy, are ‘economical’ at best, and were boasted to “encourage occupants to take advantage of the many recreational and dining opportunities afforded on the Nexus.”

The Exterior apartments are much the same size as the interior apartments, but boasted views of the galaxy outside as they sat on the skin of the station, allowing vast, bay-window views of the galaxy. These units ranged wildly in price depending on location and size, but were all universally furnished with furniture provided by the initiative, quality nonwithstanding.

Building apartments are inside the majority of the station’s 250 apartment towers, these apartments afford generous views of the crid, and were reserved mainly for the wealthiest or most important members of the initiative. Rivalling the size of some apartments in Earth’s largest cities, and with amenities that bring luxury to the new galaxy, these stand largely un-inhabited, since the majority of their occupants were not deemed “mission critical” during the first few rounds of thawings.

Finally, occupational apartments were those designated for colonists whose jobs required them to be near certain facilities. These include the administrator block (some of the only exterior apartments on the crid), the builders’ blocks on the four prongs, the spacer’s block next to the station’s major docks, and the pathfinder blocks in the crid next to the tempests’ docks. These apartments vary in size between the two-room apartments given to the builders to the multi-level 10 room apartment Administrator Analeis enjoys.

While not a problem now, the initiative came prepared to deal with a growing and transient population. Apartments are given to residents for single-year leases, and at the end of each lease term the occupant must demonstrate to the Housing and Population Management Department (HPMD) that they deserve to retain the apartment. New occupants on the nexus must submit an application with the HPMD demonstrating their suitability for life on-board the station, as well as demonstrating their eligibility for the requested unit. While many have protested this procedure as rife for systemic bias and nexus-based elitism, it is a problem which the station will not have to face for many years, since the apartments which were allotted at departure have not yet all been filled.

 


	3. Explorer Hard Suits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An entry describing the nature of the Andromeda Initiative hard suits which you'll be using for the exploration of our new home, and how they may differ from the previous models you're used to.

Since their introduction, hard suits have become a staple of space-travel, especially for those who commonly find themselves either in combat or make planet-fall on un-developed worlds. Every species, including Quarians, have integrated them into their military armor and space-suits, and the technology has become as synonymous with space travel as FTL drives.

While the military may use “total climate” hard suits, providing protection against both hot and cold environments, the Andromeda Initiative uses primarily an explorer model which provides “partial climate” control to the wearer, sacrificing comfort for duration of use, weight, and energy consumption.

Military and armor-specific hard-suits are designed for periodic use, requiring the wearer to recharge the integral battery every three or four days. These suits are also quite heavy, either precluding the use of jump-jets or requiring the use of much less energy-efficient high-weight models. Their suite of combat-specific software and hardened kinetic barrier generators often make the suits highly energy inefficient, and the total climate environment features only exacerbate the suits’ energy usage.

Explorer suits, on the other hand, have only the capability to heat the wearer. They can cool specific “hot-spots’ using opened vents and forced air cooling, but the design basis behind these features are simply to prevent heat exhaustion, not provide comfort for the wearer. Unlike their military counterparts, though, the suits are generally much lighter, capable of operating for weeks without a battery charge, and are often equipped with jump-jets and advanced navigational features to enable greater mobility during initial planetary exploration. They provide less adequate shielding out of the box, but trade features on the base model for numerous mod slots and a slimmer profile, more suited for small explorational ships and vehicles. 


End file.
